Why Mandatory Taxes Are Bad -- And How The Government Should Fix Them (But Probably Won't)

June 15th was payday at Forbes, and it was bittersweet for a young professional like me.

There’s no better feeling than being able to hold your first, real paycheck in your hands that you worked hard for and to take in the first few breaths of success that come from long, hard, usable work for a corporation -- at least, not until you open the envelope and examine all the deductions.

Money subtracted for medical insurance and personal retirement is a little bit of a downer, but, still, understandable because I know how both of these deductions will directly benefit me in the future.

Money subtracted for federal and state income taxes is a little bit more of an uncomfortable mystery.

As a fiscal conservative (although probably more accurately identified as a Libertarian: a true Republican who believes in small government in all aspects of life, not just where it’s convenient), many of my friends ask me why conservatives are so heartless, why Republicans have such a hard time parting with their money through taxes, which goes to help many people in many ways and not just themselves.

My answer to them is not that we are unkind or unforgiving; it’s that we just don’t like to be forced to do something that should come from the heart.

It’s like when you’re in a fight with your best friend and they ask you to apologize, no -- demand that you apologize, for something that you’ve done.

“Brittany, I can’t believe that you would ever, ever do that to me. I need an apology. I deserve an apology. I want one now.”

All of sudden, once they ask, you don’t want to give one. Not because you believe that they don’t deserve an apology, but because all of a sudden it becomes something necessary, something that you have to do, and not something given out of the goodness of your heart from someone who has recognized the error of their ways and wants to be forgiven.

As a result, I believe that all charitable giving should not be forced or required, but offered as a gift, from someone who expects nothing in return -- other than the enjoyment of helping others succeed.

And, if paying taxes, not just for the benefit of yourself but for others too, isn’t charitable giving, then I don’t know what is.

Of course, this idea is bright-eyed and idealistic. There’s no way we can expect everyone to willingly pay taxes for the betterment of society without getting anything in return, but -- that doesn’t mean that we can’t make steps towards it. That doesn’t mean that we can’t try it or test it, and that doesn’t mean we can’t reach the people who believe in it the most or convert the ones who don’t.

In the past, the majority of political debate surrounding taxes has always been about whether or not it is right or wrong, good or bad to pay them (or, at least, pay high amounts of them). The debate has not been about how we are going to pay taxes; it’s about whether or not we should pay taxes to begin with and how much we should pay. This is the wrong way to go about it.

I think it’s indefensible whether or not we should pay them. Of course we should. The way our economy and our government currently stands, there is no way any of us could provide transportation, military protection, healthcare benefits, etc. entirely to ourselves. There are some things even the most self-sufficient human being needs help with -- and some of these things the government provides. (Although it doesn’t always have to provide them; the people can provide them too without help from the government.)

As a result, political candidates should not focus on whether or not paying taxes (and how much people pay) is good or bad, right or wrong; they should focus on whether or not paying taxes is useful, efficient, productive, transparent, trendy, or popular.

These are the kind of things that resonate with the American heart, which is at the root of all charitable giving -- and which I will argue won Obama the election back in 2008.

His campaign wasn’t about whether or not having an African American in office was good or bad, right or wrong; it was about hope for the future, change for the better, a vision for something greater. Those are the kinds of words, the kinds of ideas, logic and rhetoric, that Americans respond to. Those are the kinds of ideals that you want to attach your policies on to if you want to win.

Just, how do you do this though?

Allow people to decide where their tax money goes.

When it comes tax time or when a person first signs on for a new job, the government should let them as an individual decide where they want the money deducted from their paychecks for taxes to go. Would they rather it go to national security, transportation, social security, medicare or medicaid? Let the individual decide -- and, once they decide, make sure that their money gets to the place that they have rightfully chosen.

Of course, this can lead to arguments over which cause or which department is getting more money or more attention than the others -- but this is not being decided by distant political representatives or corrupt corporate lobbyists outside of the people’s control. It’s being decided by us. If the people have a problem with it and where the money is going, they need to donate more to the causes they think are the most worth it -- or start their own efforts to support these causes in a way that they think is more fit. It’s as simple as that. But the battle is not over. Once this is done, government must also let their donators or "investors" know how their money is being spent.

Send report cards to the people on their tax money.

Once people donate money to their desired departments, the government must send them report cards and status updates on how their money is being used -- kind of like the charities we all see on TV where you can adopt a child in a foreign country for $10 a month, and they send you pictures and letters throughout the year on your adoptees progress.

People need to know if the cause or causes they donate to make any big decisions or any big purchases. They need photos, reports, budget documents, reasoning for why things were done. The government needs to be held accountable to the people who are paying for these services and to the people who believe in them. It should be the government's responsibility to report to us.

Just like public companies send out referendums to their stockholders, political departments should send out referendums to their investors as well. They should try to connect with their people in any way possible and keep them abreast of the latest developments and changes. This can be done in many ways, although the easiest and most practical way would most likely be to connect with the people online.

Employ community managers for each department.

The government should employ community managers for each department who would specialize in communicating with their people. This can be done through Twitter, Facebook, e-mail or snail mail, opinion articles in the local paper, chat rooms online or telephone calls to constituents. The people need someone in each department who they know they can reach out to and trust to be open and honest with them. This may require community managers to post some of their constituents biggest disagreements with their policies online. If so, so be it. The people need a government that they can trust, a government that understands them, a government that isn’t afraid to stand up to conflict and face it head on.

After all, we Americans aren’t weak, even though we have an economy that continues to beat down on us -- and we need a government that isn’t either, a government that doesn’t have to rely on desperate demands and pithy promises to finally get what it wants from its people.

I'm an Audience Development Associate at Forbes, working to understand the hearts, minds and habits of people like you -- our users -- and then incorporate those insights into what we do. It's my first real job post-college but one that I'm passionate about, allowing me to c...